


Precinct Family

by geekintheblack



Category: Castle
Genre: Castle AU, F/M, Kinda AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 15:38:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2234343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekintheblack/pseuds/geekintheblack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's time for Rick to meet her precinct family. A little AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dress Up

"Why are you so nervous?" Kate asked, sitting on the edge of the bed while Rick paced from closet to mirror as he debated on which shirt to wear. "It's just drinks with the boys and Lanie."

 

"They're your friends, what if they don't like me?" He turned to her, tossing aside the bright red dress shirt he'd been thinking about wearing.

 

"I like you, I'm sure they'll like you too. Relax!" Her words went over his head as he stared at the blue shirt in his hands with deep consideration.

 

Rick and Kate had been dating for two months, and she thought it was time for him to meet her 'precinct family', as her father called Ryan, Esposito and Lanie. She figured the Old Haunt would be better than some fancy restaurant where they would make awkward small talk over impossible-to-pronounce food. Rick had bought the place a few months ago, after learning it was on the verge of being sold to TJ McChucklenuts. It was after all his favorite bar, and it held a lot of meaning to him.

 

"A dress shirt is too formal, don't you think? Maybe I should wear a polo shirt. Yeah, a polo shirt is like the lovechild between dress shirts and t-shirts. Not too formal, not too casual. That'll work."

 

He walked back to the closet, and came back after the longest five minutes of her life dressed in a green polo shirt, black jeans and black shoes.

 

"Does my hair look flat to you?"

 

That was enough. He'd been getting dressed for almost half an hour now. She got up and put her arms around his neck, forcing him to look at her instead of the mirror.

 

"Rick, your hair is just fine, so is the rest of you. Stop fretting."

 

"But, Kate, they have guns!" He whined, pulling her closer to him. "What if they think I'm not good enough for you? They could kill me in my sleep, and then Lanie would make it look like a natural death, and the boys would bury the case file so far in the records room nobody would see it for the next century or so!"

 

"I think your writer's imagination is getting the best of you. Come on, it's a quarter to seven, we'll be late if we don't go now." She kissed him quickly and walked out of the bedroom. He followed her, frowning.

 

"It's not my imagination," he muttered, "It’s definitely not my imagination."


	2. Get Going

The bullpen was quiet. It had been a slow day and most officers had clocked off at five thirty. The night shift people were filling in slowly, settling into their desks and getting their first of many cups of coffee for the night.

“Hey, bro, you and Jenny going to meet Beckett’s new guy tonight?” Esposito asked his partner, filling up the last forms of his paperwork.

“Nah man, I’m going alone. Jenny’s been swamped with work lately, hasn’t had a day off in ages. She’s working until late today, so she can’t make it.”

“Too bad, man. Sir!” Esposito called as Montgomery walked past him, “Beckett said you weren’t coming with us for drinks tonight.”

The captain turned back to them. “Parent-teacher night. And anyway, I already know the guy.”

“You know him, sir?” Ryan’s interest was piqued, “Who is he?”

“You think I’m telling? Have a good night, detectives.” Montgomery chuckled to himself as he walked away.

Ryan turned back to Esposito. “Why do you think it’s such a secret?”

“Maybe we know the guy?” Esposito suggested.

“She said we might. I don’t know man, but I don’t think he’s a cop.”

Esposito checked his watch. “Time to find out, bro. Let’s go.”

They grabbed their coats and got into the elevator, doors closing as they bickered over who would drive.

 

 

Lanie closed her front door with a sigh, tossing her purse on the couch and leaving the mail on the kitchen counter. Checking the clock on the wall, she realized there was little time left before she’d have to go out.

There was enough time for a shower, though, she decided. Stepping into her shower, she thought there were worse ways to spend the night. She was rather curious, after all, eager to finally meet the man who’d turned Detective Beckett into a glowing, I’m-having-great-sex, joyful woman that had been turning up to crime scenes lately with a to-go latte and an impressive variation of scarfs and turtlenecks.

Lanie was definitely happy for her friend, if not a little jealous. Her own relationship, if you could call it that way, with Detective Javier Esposito had been shaky from the start, based on baby-steps, booty calls and stolen glances. At first they had been enjoying the moment, no need for labels. But now it was getting awkward, there was hesitancy in everything because one didn’t know how serious the other was about this, about them.

In a hurry, she dressed herself and caught a cab, rattling off the address Kate had texted her earlier. Her phone buzzed with an incoming call, and for the rest of the ride, Lanie found herself talking with Javier and listening to him grumbling about Ryan’s driving skills. She found it sweet, though, that he’d call her just to talk, knowing they would be in the same place in a few minutes.

 

 

The Old Haunt was packed that night. Still, being the owner had its perks, Castle thought as he settled into the private booth in a far back corner, Kate by his side. He instructed Brian to bring their guests over when they arrived, giving him names and descriptions to match. As his employee took off to the bar, Kate turned to him.

“You’re not nervous anymore, are you?” She asked, her smile teasing but gentle.

“Me, nervous? Nah. They’re going to love me.” Castle scoffed.

She squeezed his hand reassuringly, seeing right through his confidence, before picking up the menu on the table, scanning her eyes over the new additions.

“You made a lot of changes here.” She observed.

“Yeah, well, you know I love the Old Haunt, but all they had was the boring, traditional drinks and five different ways of saying ‘peanuts’. I thought a little food variation wouldn’t hurt.”

“Still, I don’t think most bars serve Cheese Balls or popcorn. You should be careful; you might end up attracting high schoolers here.” She smirked.

“Oh, ha, ha. You may laugh, but the costumers love it.”

“If you say so.” She shrugged nonchalantly.

“Katherine Beckett, do you doubt my brilliant business insight?”

“That’s Detective Katherine Beckett to you, Mister.”

“So very, very hot.”

They stared at each other, lost in their little world of teasing and flirting, until a voice called out their attention.

“Mr. Castle, your guests are here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dunno when I’ll have the next part written. Might be tomorrow, might be next year, who the hell knows. Thank you for reading!


End file.
